Reunion
by Wolf of the Aurora
Summary: They have spent their lives apart. Now they are together once again. Four sisters of the United States Navy meet up and celebrate the start of a New Year.


Reunion

They are an endangered species. The last of their kind. And yet they had no escorts. No one shared the ocean with them as they steamed ahead alone.

Two lone warriors slipped effortlessly through the waves, their superstructures towering above the ocean. The engines whirred and occupants stayed silent as the sun progressed across the sky, shining on their majestic bodies.

A woman with shoulder length blonde hair in NWUs walked outside and onto the highest point of the bridge. With binoculars, she scanned the vast ocean ahead of her until she spotted something in the distance.

"Hey, Mo. She's already here," she said over the radio.

"Copy that, Wis," Missouri said.

"You did clean your deck, right?" Wisconsin asked, looking over the starboard side towards the USS _Missouri_.

Missouri, a brunette with wavy hair, looked back at the USS _Wisconsin_.

"I cleaned everything if that's what you mean. But I'm going to have to clean it again since we were crashing through waves a few hours ago!"

Missouri's voice of annoyance got a chuckle out of her sister ship.

"I'll send my fairies over to help when we stop," Wisconsin said.

Missouri and Wisconsin pulled up alongside the USS _New Jersey_ 's left side and stopped. Missouri sounded her foghorn to announce their arrival. Wisconsin packed a bag and skied her way to the _Missouri_. When she stepped onto the deck, she was greeted by a bark. Looking aft, she saw a Border Collie run the length of the ship towards her.

"Oh! Hey, Mia!" Wisconsin said playfully, kneeling down.

Mia stood on her hind legs and knocked her on her back.

"It's good to see you too," Wisconsin smiled.

"Hey, Wisconsin, what's in the bag?"

Looking up, Wisconsin saw Missouri walking down to the main deck. Missouri had on a dark red dress and diamond earrings. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail.

"It's my change of clothes. I didn't want it getting wet while I skied over," Wisconsin explained.

Movement caught their attention and they turned to see a young blonde girl in a blue dress walking up the gangplank.

"Is it just me or did New Jersey shrink?" Missouri commented.

"Very funny, Mo," came a more mature voice.

The girl stepped out of the way when she got onto the ship to reveal a woman making her way up the gangplank. The woman was a spitting image of herself, albeit older.

"Hi, NJ," Wisconsin greeted their older sister ship.

"How you doin'?" Missouri said with a good nature accent.

"Fine, thank you," New Jersey said before turning towards the youngest of the Iowas. "And that's a Brooklyn accent by the way."

"Dang it!" Missouri said.

"I hope you guys don't mind. My little sister wanted to come along," she said, putting her hands on the girl's shoulders.

"Not a problem. In fact, Johnston and O'Bannon tagged along with me as well," Missouri added.

"I don't see a boat," Wisconsin observed. "Is she a ship girl too?"

The girl looked up at New Jersey.

"Go ahead. It's okay," New Jersey said.

"I am _Clemson_ -class destroyer, USS Edsall. It's an honor to meet you," she said with a salute.

"Nice to meet you too," replied Wisconsin.

"The honor is mine," Missouri added. She noticed that New Jersey wore NWUs and also carried a bag. "Why don't you guys go change and freshen up? I'll help the fairies and DDs set up."

Her sister ships nodded in agreement.

Something akin to a lawn party was set up on the _Missouri_ 's helicopter pad. There were two tables, a barbeque grill, and several chairs and pool chairs.

The set up was almost complete when New Jersey and Wisconsin had changed into their evening wear. New Jersey wore a similar blue dress to Edsall, but the hem went past her knees, as well as simple silver dangle earrings. Her hair was tied into a low bun. Wisconsin had changed into a white and silver dress.

The sun was sinking below the horizon and the decorative lights on all the present battleships lit up with various colors.

"When did Iowa get here?" Wisconsin wondered aloud.

"Huh?"

"What?"

New Jersey and Missouri said respectively.

"I mean, that's the USS _Iowa_ on the other side of the _New Jersey_."

Sure enough, on the starboard side of BB-62 stood the lead ship of their class.

"I'm afraid you are all looking in the wrong direction," a voice said.

The three women turned their heads and saw a beautiful brunette walking towards them.

"Iowa!" Missouri shouted with joy.

She ran across the pad and threw her arms around Iowa. Wisconsin followed a little slower and joined the hug. Since she had her arms full, New Jersey waited for the younger sisters to break away before she had her chance to hug Iowa.

"Pardon my asking, but what are you wearing, Io?" Wisconsin asked.

Iowa looked down and smoothed out the white outfit with a cherry blossom pattern.

"Oh, this is a kimono. I picked it up when I went shopping with Yamato in Yokosuka."

Iowa looked over her sister ships.

"My, when was the last time we were all together?" Iowa asked.

"1954. Just off the Virginia Capes," answered New Jersey.

"Meeting again for the first time in over sixty years," Iowa said with a soft smile and a hand over her heart.

"Which makes it that much more reason to celebrate!" Missouri declared. "Come on! We got wine, apple cider, a barbeque, salad..."

The Iowas as well as the destroyers that tagged along sat down to eat. They socialized as they ate like any family at a gathering. The destroyers talked about their past life, boasting about the accomplishments they made. Of course the story that made every cry out in laughter was O'Bannon's use of potatoes to help sink a submarine. Johnston boasted about surviving a salvo from Yamato, but whether it was true or not was anyone's guess. In turn, Edsall countered by describing a battle she fought that made her a pain in the side of the Imperial Japanese Navy.

The battleships did talk about much except their lives as museum ships and some battles they participated in during World War II. Iowa did not say much overall and Missouri noticed.

Iowa got up and walked towards the railing. Missouri wiped her mouth with a napkin and followed.

"Are you alright?" Missouri asked.

"Not...really," Iowa said between sniffles.

"Are...Are you crying?"

Iowa could only nod.

"What is it? Did I do something wrong? Did I disappoint you?" Missouri asked. "If that's the case, then I am so sorry."

"No, you did well. I'm proud of you. You are the most famous out of all four of us. That ensures that at least one of us won't be...scrapped."

Iowa took in a shaky breath.

"Scrapped... I was threatened to be scrapped once. Maybe twice. I was no use. Sitting in the mothball fleet, rusting away. Even now, I still walk on plywood sheets because my deck is still rotting!"

Iowa softly cried and Missouri held her in a tight embrace, comforting her older sister ship.

"So that's why we're celebrating on me instead of you. I'm in the most pristine condition," Missouri said.

"Mm-hm," Iowa confirmed.

"I'm so sorry."

"You've got nothing to be sorry for," Iowa said as they separated.

"I don't mean to push, but why were you late? You're usually punctual."

"I stopped by San Diego," Iowa admitted. "To find Midway."

"One of your oldest friends?"

"Yes. I tried looking for her. I tried summoning her. But I don't think she's coming back. I feel like I lost her, but I know I didn't."

"We all wish lost loved ones can be brought back," Missouri said as she ran a finger over the dogtags wrapped around her wrist.

"Iowa! Missouri! It's almost time!" Johnston said excitedly. She was looking at her phone as it counted down to midnight.

"Well, let's celebrate," Missouri said with a slowly growing smile.

"Let's," responded Iowa.

The destroyers were counting down enthusiastically.

"Ten...nine...eight...seven...six...five...four...three...two...one..."

"Happy New Year!"

Wisconsin and O'Bannon popped confetti canisters. Edsall blew a party horn as did Johnston, although Johnston intentionally had the paper unroll into Edsall's face. New Jersey laughed in amusement and clapped as the two destroyers began to duel. Even the fairies used tiny horns and noise makers.

Not wanting to be outdone, Missouri activated the _Missouri_ 's foghorn and got a laugh from everyone including Iowa and herself.

"Come on! It's about to start!" Johnston said as she pulled Wisconsin over to the starboard railing.

"What? What is?"

Looking over to the coast of Oahu, there was a distant whistle then a colorful explosion. Fireworks of many different colors, shapes and designs illuminated the midnight sky.

"All the ship girls got together and thought it would be a good idea to put on a show for you guys," Johnston said.

"Do you like it?" O'Bannon piped up.

"Yes," Iowa replied. "It's very beautiful."

The other three sisters nodded in approval. Johnston looked like she could hardly contain herself.

"Yes!" Johnston cried out and started dancing around the helicopter pad. "Iowa likes it! Iowa likes it!"

The grown-ups chuckled at the ecstatic destroyer.

"Looks like you gave her the Iowa Seal of Approval," Wisconsin joked.

"Any resolutions? Regrets?" New Jersey asked.

"I wish Enterprise was here. She would have loved this," Missouri said.

Everyone murmured in agreement.

"As for resolutions, let's do what we always do: perform to the best of our abilities and survive."

"Roger that," New Jersey said.

"I can support that," added Wisconsin.

Iowa just nodded.

Everyone continued to watch the light show and socialize. Iowa kept her distance as she wanted some alone time. She smiled when she heard New Jersey berating Missouri for drinking more wine than she should. The youngest battleship was already slightly slurring her words.

 _That kimono looks good on you_.

Iowa looked up and around for the feminine voice she just heard.

 _Don't worry. It's me_.

She felt a ghostly hand on her shoulder. Iowa was speechless as tears of happiness rolled down her cheeks.

 _I am right here with you_.

"I missed you Midway." Iowa said shakily, putting her hand over the carrier's.

"And Happy New Year."


End file.
